Decision details

The Committee considered a report on the appointment of lay members to sit on both School Admission Appeals Panels and Exclusion Appeal Panels.

Where an admission authority refused a child a place at a particular school the parent had the right to appeal the decision to an independent appeal panel under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Where a pupil had been permanently excluded following a disciplinary offence by a head teacher, parents had a right of appeal to an independent appeal panel. 

Under Section 84 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, admission authorities were required to ensure that every school admission appeal hearing consisted of at least one lay member. Under Section 67 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, local education authorities were required to make arrangements for enabling the relevant person to appeal against any decision of the governing body under section 66 not to reinstate a pupil who had been permanently excluded from a school maintained by the authority. The Chairman of any exclusions appeals panel must be a lay member.

A proposed list of panel members was set out in an Appendix to the report. The majority of the panel members listed were longstanding panel members who had previously been appointed by Cheshire County Council. All were trained, had experience and had given good service for a number of years.

RESOLVED

That

(1)   the appointment of the lay independent appeal panel members listed in the Appendix to the report be approved; and

(2)   Members of the Committee be invited to attend a future training session for lay members.